WHAT A LONG WAY WE'VE COME IN TWO YEARS! Since receiving our full funding in February 2023, our Warm Spaces @ HBC project has continued to develop in exciting ways. • We’ve been able to run our sessions year around, not just in the winter months. Because of this, we’ve amended the project name slightly to Warm Welcome Spaces @ HBC. • We’ve signed up and are part of Warm Welcome Brum (https://www.warmwelcome.uk/find-a-space), which runs in connection with Birmingham City Council. As part of that, our sessions are expected to be open to anyone in the community, to include some kind of refreshments and to be free (or nearly so) to those who attend. • Two years ago, we only hosted two Warm Welcome Spaces. Now, we run five different groups throughout the week! - Sunday Service – A Christian Worship Service where we meet to pray, sing and listen to a short talk based on the Bible. - Move It or Lose It – Friendly and fun exercise classes for all levels and abilities. An instructor leads two popular sessions each Monday, and we’d love to provide a third. - Community Café – We partner with The Real Junk Food Project Central to provide a hot, two-course meal every Wednesday lunchtime. The Pay As You Feel contributions (no minimum donation) all go to The Real Junk Food Project Central and their costs. - Place of Welcome – This is a coffee morning, held every Thursday. Alongside this, we have Digital Champions, resourced by a couple of local college students who come to support people with their digital challenges during term time. A Community Network Support Officer from Birmingham City Council is also present each week to help connect people to services and organisations. - Creative Wellbeing Arts & Crafts Morning – A relaxed and friendly session where attendees can choose to participate in an organised Art & Craft activity, bring something from home to work on or simply enjoy a cuppa and a chat. - A Dementia Carers Support Group also meets weekly on a Friday at the same time as Creative Wellbeing. Their sessions are facilitated by a Dementia Carers Group Officer in connection with Age UK Birmingham and Age UK Sandwell. WHATS NEXT? HOW CAN YOU BE INVOLVED? • Thanks to you and others, all of our Warm Welcome Spaces are thriving! It’s exciting and encouraging to see the positive impact on the lives of those who attend the groups. Everything that was at the heart of our original idea is now a reality! • While our Warm Welcome Spaces are free (or nearly so) to those who attend, there are ongoing expenses for us as a church. Our costs include: instructors for the Move It or Lose It exercise classes and Creative Wellbeing Arts and Crafts sessions, refreshments, utilities and cleaning. • We are so grateful for your past contributions. We wouldn’t have come so far without you! • Please consider supporting the continuation and expansion of our Warm Welcome Spaces @ HBC and feel free to share our project with others too! THANK YOU!
